Starting my WIP thread for my first kit intended for OM. I've made 2 unofficial kits before now and am excited to get this one going!
My concept is heavily inspired by my Cherokee heritage, from the colors to the chest graphics, to the marks on my helmet, making it something very dear to me and something I cannot WAIT to bring to life.
Ru'nan Vel is a Kiffar merc. She'll be outfitted for gunslinger (shown) and sniper load outs. I'm planning a modular kit with add-ons for winter, but will be starting with the summer version.
**NOTE** I know my abb plates are drawn too small. That will be corrected when I make my actual plates and templates.
We (the Cherokee) historically had sternum tattoos - the inspiration for my feather-like chest and back graphics. We also would carve marks into warriors' faces with flint and rub pigment in them to record successes in battle and other important life events. That put me in mind of kill stripes and seemed so perfect for a Mando, so I incorporated similar marks etched into my helmet.
I'll have at least 3 leather pouches on my belt for speaker, wallet, phone + necessities, and repair kit, plus a small satchel for gunslinger cleaning/care kit. The grenade on my belt will be a shock grenade from Battlefront (below) rather than the one pictured in my drawing.
I'll be carrying a Westar-55, DE-10, and DT-12 as my pistols - Westar and DE will be in the thigh holsters with the DT on my lower back next to a 10" combat knife. I'm thinking of putting the EE-3 in a back holster that attaches at the shoulder and side of my flak vest/armor plates so I don't have to cover my pretty chest with a strap.
The entire kit will be scratch built by me with the exception of my boots and the guns, which I've commissioned from friends as they don't particularly interest me. I will be building my own Aurra Sing adventurer Slugthrower rifle eventually though.
I recently received swatches for my soft parts fabric!
The front two will be the two tones in my flight suit - a nice stretch cotton twill. The dark brown will be my flak vest and winter chaps - nice brushed cotton twill with flannel (it's super dense, almost feels like neoprene), and the felted wool will be my poncho base.
The sheepskin at the back will be my lower leg half-chaps.
The loin/layers between the flak vest and flight suit will be a dyed heavy linen
All the fabrics for the soft parts are natural to help with heat, and the "flight suit" on my torso for summer will really just be a crop top with 3/4 sleeves to minimize layers and reduce heat. I'll also likely add in some sneaky air vents in key places to help the whole thing breathe even more.
The helmet will be slush-cast in resin and the armor plates will be vacuum formed styrene except for the knee plates, which will likely be hand-shaped ABS, and will all be attached with heavy duty velcro with a couple snaps for alignment.
I've started patterning soft parts but am waiting for some feedback from the app team regarding part of it. Looking forward to sharing more progress here!
